EAGER: Cavefishes of the Guangxi Karst Region in China

项目名称：ENGER：中国广子喀斯特地区的洞穴鱼调查员：苏亚雷斯，达弗尼项目编号：iOS 1048820这项研究计划调查动物如何适应新的环境。具体地说，该提案研究了进化如何改变了让脊椎动物在洞穴中发现的永恒黑暗世界中茁壮成长的感觉模式。物种是以自己的方式适应还是有必须遵守的规则？在进化过程中，感觉形式之间是否存在相互作用？神经系统是如何受到环境的制约的？这些问题在洞穴中特别有趣，因为严酷的环境质量提供了关于神经系统随时间变化的可塑性的独特见解。这项建议比较了许多种类的穴居鱼的行为、神经解剖学和基因。这些动物有着不同的系统发育，各种完全不相关的物种在世界各地的洞穴中都有独立的殖民地。考察不相关的动物可以指出进化的一般规律，比较研究为适应研究创造了一个智力框架。中国包含了文献中报道的大多数洞穴鱼，该项目资助了马里兰大学和上海海洋大学之间的初步工作。研究人员和学生将研究广西自治区罕见的、独特的、往往未被描述的洞鱼物种。除了对生物体本身的研究外，研究结果还可能揭示可能影响这些动物长期生存的保护问题。这项建议不仅解决了可能濒危物种的独特生物学问题，建立了一种新的国际合作，还为本科生创造了一个学习生物学基本方面的场所。

Project Title: EAGER: Cavefishes of the Guangzi Karst Region in ChinaInvestigator: Soares, DaphneProject Number: IOS 1048820This research plan investigates how animals adapt to new environments. Specifically, the proposal examines how evolution has changed the sensory modalities that allow vertebrates to thrive in the perpetual world of darkness found in caves. Do species adapt in their own way or there are rules that they must follow? Is there interplay between sensory modalities during evolution? How are nervous systems constrained by their environment? These questions are especially interesting in caves because the harsh quality of the environment provide unique insights into the malleability of nervous systems over time. This proposal compares the behavior, neuroanatomy and genes of many species of cavefishes. These animals have a diverse phylogeny and various completely unrelated species have independently colonized caves all over the world. Examining unrelated animals can point towards general rules of evolution and comparative studies create an intellectual framework for the study of adaptation. China contains the majority of reported cavefishes in the literature and this project funds preliminary work between the University of Maryland and the Shanghai Ocean University. Researchers and students will be examining rare, unique and often undescribed species of cavefish in the Guangxi autonomous region. Aside from studying the organisms themselves results are likely to uncover conservational issues that may impact the long term survival of these animals. This proposal not only addresses unique biological questions in possibly endangered species, establishes a new international collaboration, but also creates a venue for undergraduate students to learn essential aspects of Biology.